Iris Recognition System (down Side) – Article Example

Iris recognition systemsIntroduction1994 was the year when Iris recognition systems were patented for the first time. This technology works by the process of identifying the outside circular borders in the pupil and iris of the human eye and then comparing them to a given database. Initially they were developed by use of basic algorithm models which needed a human to be in the loop in order to see the iris within the eye. However this has now been automated (Besbes, Trichili & Solaiman 2004). There are possibilities that in future the alignment of the eye ball muscles and the retina will be used in identification.

The iris recognition systems need to have the ability to cope with the heavy human traffic that can be found in any busy airport. This paper examines the iris recognition system, vulnerabilities and weaknesses of the system as well as how these weaknesses can be exploited by the wrong people In regards to Daugman (2004) iris recognition system technology is still young and it has the potential to achieve tremendous success. The technology is successful since it has been made to endure high operational use within public places such as airports and bus or train stations that are extremely busy.

There are however many weaknesses in the Iris recognition systems. They present a very big concern in terms of reliability if they are not manned. It is possible to deceive the systems with portraits that are highly resolved in place of natural eyeballs. Therefore the systems cannot be said to be full proof. This is a major weakness and it renders iris recognition systems not very effective especially in access control that in unmanned or that which is not supervised by a human being.

However they are seen to be very suitable to be used in the airports since they have human operators regardless of the level of advancement of the biometric system. They also have impressive speed and error rates. The accuracy of iris recognition systems is 96%. They may be this reliable but their use and procurement has very heavy financial implications that one cannot afford to ignore. The recognition systems go at a cost of about £1700 per set.

This price is a bit high for use in private security. They cab be used with ease in places like air ports because many of them are dedicating a bigger part of their budget to security (Pierscionek, Crawford & Scotney 2008). Another weakness of the system is that it presents challenges with any technology. The iris is a tiny organ that presents problems when scanning from a distance. Since it is a target that is in motion it can easily be obscured by eyelids and eyelashes.

It is also challenging to handle people who have cataracts or are blind because reading the iris is difficult. The camera being used in the exercise must have the right illumination amounts. If this is not there it becomes hard to get a good image for the iris. Together with illumination there comes another issue of reflective surfaces in the camera range together with any occurring lighting that is not usual.